Maelstrom
by Maitre D'iscord
Summary: Spike feared the worst when he realized that he was changing. He didn't want to become the horrible beast that he became so long ago. Now he's faced with even greater challenges than before, each challenge harder than the next. What will happen when he learns of his species past? Can Spike handle it?
1. Quests

**Chapter 1: Quests.**

"Nnngghhhauuuuu!" Spike groaned loudly as he lazily flopped over the side of his little basket. He struggled to open his eyes, let alone stay awake long enough to actually move again. He shifted in the basket, slowly raising his claw up to his cheek. One eyelid made its way upward, while the other followed in suit. Spike's vision blurred for a few seconds before the surroundings of Twilight's bedroom came into full focus.

"Augh…" Was all Spike managed to say before straining to push himself off the bed. He let the small blanket roll of his little body as he began to rise. The strands of light lined Spike's body as the morning sun just began to rise. He pushed himself to sit up, and then eventually stand up. He hobbled out of his bed, turning around to see if Twilight was still asleep, which sure enough she was.

"Looks like it's time for breakfast." Spike barely managed to let the words escape his maw. He was always tired in the morning, but never this tired.

Spike began to walk toward the door, slowly opening it to make sure Twilight didn't wake up. He shut the door as quietly as possible, but this early in the morning it sounded like Pinkie just fired her Party Cannon. Spike winced at the sound, but then continued to make his way down the steps. He took hold of the wall to keep his balance, almost walking like a zombie.

He was one step away, but momentarily forgot that there was an extra step. He let his foot glide in the air for a split second before falling face first on the floor. Spike groaned as he pushed himself up, rubbing his face as he arose. Needless to say, Spike was wide awake now.

Thanking the pain for finally snapping him back to reality, he started to walk normally toward the kitchen. He walked inside, just as the light of day entered the kitchen.

Spike looked around the kitchen. A few dishes lay on the shelves from last night, while there was a faint smell of leftovers coming from the fridge. The smell travelled up Spike's nose, almost immediately triggering his stomach. A large growl emanated from Spike's stomach.

"Whoa, guess I'm pretty hungry." Spike said to nopony in particular. He took the noise as a sign to get started. Wasting no time, he grabbed his step ladder and placed it in front of the high cabinets, reaching for the pans.

_30 Minutes later…_

Twilight began to stir from her slumber. The lavender pony turned her head, only to bet met with a bright light coming from the window. The lavender pony groaned and placed a hoof over her eyes, shielding them. She groggily opened her eyes, letting her mane move itself out of the way. She sat up on her haunches, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She proceeded to make her way out of bed, walking over to her mirror. Then, her horn began to sparkle with energy, while her hairbrush began to be engulfed in a magical purple aura. The magic surrounded and gently smothered the brush, beginning to rise from its original position. The brush levitated itself toward Twilight's mane, and began stroking it gently.

While Twilight was brushing her mane, her senses began to tingle. She could smell something wonderful coming from downstairs.

"Wow, that smells delicious." Twilight said happily. She put the brush down and trotted out of the room.

Twilight started making her way downstairs, but before she could reach the bottom step, she was met with a "Morning, Twilight!" from Spike.

Twilight smiled. "Morning to you too, Spike!" She walked over to the table, which was neatly set with plates and cups. There was a salad and various fruit covering the table, as well as sweets ranging from apple pies to cupcakes. Twilight's eyes widened, she never expected such an extravagant breakfast. Just then, when Twilight was almost about to dive in, Spike emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates holding food.

"Wow Spike," Twilight said, "You've really outdone yourself today." She smiled as her number one assistant placed a pancake in front of her.

"It's really nothing Twi; I'm just doing my job." Spike smiled. "Also, I made those ginger-hay pancakes you love so much." Spike looked Twilight in the eyes, now the size of saucers.

"Ginger-hay!" She exclaimed, "You haven't made those in forever!" She stared hungrily at the pancake on the plate. These were her favorite.

"Well, I'm trying to be spontaneous." Spike joked. Just then, his stomach cried out in agony as the smells of the table snuck into his nose.

"Well, it seems that your stomach thinks the same thing." Twilight giggled, "But if it isn't so much to ask, what's the occasion?" Twilight still bore her smile, but she was now curious as to what caused the big breakfast.

"In all honesty," Spike began, "I'm just really, _really,_ hungry." As Spike stated the problem, he couldn't help himself. He immediately dove for the fork beside his plate and began eating furiously.

"Spike," Twilight said after swallowing a bit more food, "You better watch it, because you may end up eating the plate."

Spike shrugged of the snarky comment. He downed two pancakes in no time flat, but he still wanted more. He reached for the fruit and sweets, taking nearly half of the table's food. He piled them onto his plate and once again mauled his meal.

Twilight could only watch in awe as she watched the little dragon eat more than his own size, and at speeds even Rainbow Dash would find incredible. She slowly finished the rest of her pancake, but her eyes never came off the spectacle before her.

Spike threw the last apple core down to his plate, but franticly searched for more food. His eyes darted left and right, but the table was empty. Spike felt a mini wave of defeat wash over him. Well, up until Twilight spoke up.

"You know there's probably more food in the fridge." Twilight guessed. She didn't know how much food Spike had brought, but she guessed that he didn't use ALL of it. Spike was visibly torn about the lack of nutrients; she couldn't just let him be sad.

Spike's face lit up at the sound of food, so he zipped from his chair toward the fridge, quick to open it and search for food.

As Spike moved jars and stacked snacks, Twilight's curiosity continued to rise. How could one baby dragon eat more than twice his in size and weight in food, yet still want more? She knew that Spike was growing up, and that he needed to be nurtured, but this was unnatural if not borderline impossible. Questions flooded Twilight's mind, spawning at each corner of her conscience. Was there more to Spike's species than she thought? Was he going through another change like the greed incident? Was it… some random force driving Spike into oblivion?

She pushed her insane questions aside and shook her head. Just then, Spike had just finished cleaning out the refrigerator. He closed the door and let out a small burp of satisfaction.

"Whoa, that helped." Spike huffed. He placed a claw on his stomach and let a content smile creep up on his face. "Also, you're going to need to buy some more food, Twilight." Spike pointed out.

Twilight could only stare, but after a few seconds she managed to speak. "Uhh...OK."

"Well, I need to head over to Rarity's place and help her. She said she's had an 'inspirational burst' and needs my help more than ever." He stated with a smile, "I'll help you clean up first, though." He began to take some of the empty plates and cups off the table and walked them over to the kitchen, placing them into the sink. Twilight snapped out of her daze and began to levitate some of the dishes as well.

One the sink was full, Spike ran the water and smeared the dishes with soap, it only took about an hour to finish all the dishes and put them away. Once done, Spike walked toward the door before stopping and turning his head around for a moment.

"Hey Twilight, where do you normally keep my stash of gems?" Spike asked. He could feel a faint hint of hunger reappearing.

Twilight focused her magic around the library's shelves, searching for a certain book. "They're in the drawer by the desk." Twilight answered, continuing to concentrate.

Spike ran over to the drawer, opened the cabinet and pulled out a small sack of gems. He grinned as his maw started to dribble.

"Thanks Twi!" Spike thanked before heading out of the library. He started to jog in the direction of Carousel Boutique.

Twilight watched her assistant leave, and then continued her magic. Once she was positive that the book she was looking for wasn't in this library, she sighed in defeat. She started to walk over to her desk, wanting to continue her studies from yesterday. She took a seat in front of the desk and began flipping through the pages of "Geology of Canterlot". She had left of at a pretty neat part about the secrets of the Crystal Caverns under the castle, a place where she decided better not to go again. She began reading about how it was formed when something caught her eye.

A single parchment and quill.

She looked at it, deciding whether or not to go through with what she had in mind. Her curiosity overthrew her, and then she began writing.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_ I am in urgent need of something that I cannot seem to locate in this library. My best guess is that it could only be a rare book. All rare books, ones of ancient information, always end up in the Canterlot Library. I need this for a new phenomenon currently taking place, and I need full understanding of the subject, because we may be in for big trouble. If you have any books, scrolls, stone slabs or maybe even a hidden message or picture regarding Dragon species and Dragon evolution, I would be most appreciative if you could send me all of it. This may be my biggest mystery yet._

_Your Faithful Student,_

_ Twilight Sparkle._

Once Twilight had finished writing the letter, she rolled it up and lifted it into the air. She used her magic to replicate Spike's green flame and lit the scroll. She watched as its ashes flew off out the window.

Twilight could only wait patiently.

_1 month walking distance from Ponyville…_

The sound of leaves whistled through the air, the autumn wind crisp to the touch, and animals getting ready to go into hibernation. The trio hiked along in peace, listening only to their footsteps. The future was the only thing on each of their minds, but in all different perspectives and opinions. They each had their reasons to be doing this, but all in all, they were doing it for a purpose.

"Hey Starflame?" One of the members of the group asked.

"Yes Nightwing?" Starflame responded. He didn't bother looking over to his associate, knowing it was actually pointless to actually be talking to him.

"Exactly how much farther do we have to go? I'm kind of getting tired over here." He asked with a huff. He was starting to be a little angry with the whole idea of this trip.

"Well, it wouldn't matter if weren't such a cry baby, but if you must know." Starflame said, stressing the sentence to get his point across. He opened the large, ancient book he's been holding the whole time to a page somewhere in the center. The page was blank to everyone, but only he could see what was truly on the page. He could see a magically altered map, tracking their every move, so they could see what was in front of them, and how fast they were moving.

"Well," Starflame started, "Unless we keep walking at this pace, and we only take a few breaks, it looks like we're about one month away.

"Huh…" Nightwing sighed. He really didn't see the importance on going such a long journey for just one dragon. He's been internally whining this whole way, but the Council promised him fights, so he gladly accepted. "Oh yeah, Starflame," Nightwing said, "I just remembered."

Starflame didn't bother turning, the little child didn't deserve to be noted, but he had to…

His train of thought was interrupted by a sudden movement of his jaw. Nightwing had connected with his face, and he had to say, it hurt. "Why you little…" Starflame started, wiping his mouth.

"That's for the cry baby remark." Nightwing said with a slight smirk.

That's it. Starflame finally decided to turn his head toward the idiot beside him. His face darkened under his hood, ready to strike back, but had another interruption.

"Please you two." A low, calming voice said. The third of them finally decided to end the little spat. "I would prefer if we could enjoy our trip in peace, not acting like such delinquents." Their leader polled. Even though his tone of voice suggested slight disappointment, he still had his reassuring smile. That smile, even after the years of being with him, Starflame has never once seen him frown. It's always been permanently plastered onto his face, and it always gave others around him a sense of security. They all new of his power, so he was highly respected, even among the Council. In fact, it was the Council that brought him in.

Nightwing and Starflame ended their dispute, leaving the slight sound of wind and trees to overtake the silence once more.

"Beautiful, isn't it," The leader said after a few more minutes of walking, "The sound of the energy?" He stopped and stared into the treetops, leaving the sun to warm him.

"Energy? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about Halo." Nightwing stated, clearly confused. Even with his brick wall of a mind, not even Starflame knew what Halo was talking about.

"Sir, I have to agree with him, even though that's a very rare occasion." Starflame said as-a-matter-of-factly. Nightwing just scoffed and looked at Halo.

Halo turned around, his calm face beaming with bliss. Even with the smile, the half-closed eyelids and his constant low voice, whenever they…or anyone saw his face, that reassurance he gives gets over powered by a near bone-rattling fear. He could kill any living being with his looks, even though he doesn't try to. You always feel safe around Halo, but like you never, _ever_, want to get on his bad side, if he has one.

"You can't feel it?" He asked, slightly concerned. He raised an eyebrow, never lifting his smile.

"Feel what?" Nightwing asked while Starflame let his acquaintance do the talking. Nightwing was too utterly confused to figure out what he was saying.

"Listen, my comrades, close your eyes and listen to the energy radiating around you." Halo smiled a bit more. He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, letting the air roll out of his mouth. He enjoyed feeling the condensation of magical aura that escaped the young dragon in Ponyville. He himself was impressed by the power coming of the youngling.

Nightwing and Starflame nodded, closing their eyes and tried to focus on something they didn't know how to find. As they let their own magic take control of their senses, Nightwing collapsed, followed by Starflame. Both snapped their eyes open, trying to gasp for breath.

While the two struggled to catch air, they could only see, not hear or feel. The magic was incredible. The thing that Halo was sensing was a wave of powerful magic heading their way. Where did this come from? As soon as the magic appeared, it vanished, finally letting the two breath properly again.

"You see?" Halo said, looking down at his friends, "That magic came from our subject."

"You mean…" Starflame said panting, "That magic came from that baby dragon? And from such a distance?"

"He shall be a powerful one." Halo said, turning back around. Nightwing began to rise along with Starflame. The trio started to move slowly forward, leaving them in silence once more.

Nightwing had nothing on his mind, except one thing. He finally realized why this dragon was so important. Never had he felt such pressure, such raw power. It was now crucial to find this dragon. He thought the Council was insane when they issued this dragon a main priority, but now he's having conflicting thoughts. Was this dragon going to be as powerful as Halo thinks? What will the Council do with him? Will he…

Be more powerful than Halo?

_Back at Ponyville, nearly 4 weeks later._

"Oh my…." Fluttershy said shyly. She watched as the little dragon assistant flew up and down the buffet table only to repeat the process once more. Every single time the table would have significantly less food. Ponies from around the festival started giving Spike odd looks.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane. She loved the little guy like a brother, but she never had seen him each so much food. Twilight warned her about something when she gave Spike to her for the day, but she never specified what. This must've been it.

"Oh, umm…." She mumbled, hoping Spike would turn and listen, "I…Spike...I think you should slow down, well, because, umm…." She stopped herself as Spike only continued to eat.

Spike on the other hand still wasn't full. He continued to eat, even the stuff he didn't like, just to satisfy his hunger. This has been happening for about a month now. Every 5-7 days, Spike would go on binge diet, eating anything he could find. He would eat a good 5 course dinner and still want more. Plus, Twilight's been kicking him out of the house a lot more recently. He didn't care, as long as he could play with friends or help Rarity. Today, he was at the Fall to Winter Festival out at Ponyville square, and they always had a huge buffet, luckily today he was on the binge diet. The weird thing is he never felt sick, or more sleepy than usual. It felt almost natural.

Fluttershy continued to hide, scared he might eat her. She thought it was a ridiculous thought, but at this rate it was becoming more plausible. She could only watch in surprise as Spike finally walked over, a toothpick in-between his fangs. He had a content sigh on his face.

"So, what was it you wanted Fluttershy?" Spiked asked.

"Oh, um, nothing Spike. Come on, I think we should head back to the library now." Fluttershy said timidly. She was wary of Spike, but not to the point where she would be hostile.

As the two started to walk away from the festival, a few ponies gave them quick double-takes, but eventually disregarded them. Fluttershy and Spike walked down the dirt road, not speaking. It was a grueling 2 minutes for Fluttershy, until she finally built up the courage to say something.

"Um, Spike?" She asked shyly.

"What is it Fluttershy?" Spike answered.

"Um, well, if it's too much to ask, um…" She found herself wavering again.

"You can ask me anything, Shy." Spike reassured, looking at the timid mare.

"Well, how…how did you eat so much?"

"Oh that," Spike said, inwardly relieved it was only that, "Well, really I don't know. For the past month I would eat normally one day then want Equestria's food supply the next. It's been weird lately, but I never feel sick or anything afterwards. So I'm guessing it's just some random growth spurt for dragons of something." He said. Spike was able to see the library now.

"Well, um… I've heard of large animals eating an awful lot of food, and that's when they're fully grown and hungry. And I've also seen Angel eat at least three salads in one sitting, but never have I seen such a small creature eat more than a bear." She started to sound scared, and Spike was picking up on it.

"Well, don't worry Fluttershy. If you're thinking that I'm going to eat you, I'm not. I've craved food, but never ponies." He said with a chuckle.

"But…But what if it's like the greed incident?" She asked, now more concerned than scared. They reached the library's doorstep, Spike looking at the ground.

"I'm…I'm not sure." Spike said in a low tone. He recalled on the horrible memories that day, and what he did. If Fluttershy was right, then this is a sign he couldn't be able to change back. What if he actually became a full grown dragon? He didn't want to know, but if he did change. What would he do?

After a moment's silence, Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm sorry…But, I didn't mean to make you sad, I mean…" Spike cut her off. "Don't worry about me Fluttershy, I'm fine."

He wished he was.

"Oh, well, I need to head back my place. Angel may be getting a bit hungry by now." Fluttershy said nervously. She quickly turned around and flew away. She couldn't escape the feeling that she had just hurt Spike a lot, even though he claims to be fine.

Spike watched as Fluttershy flew quickly toward her house, much quicker than normal. He disregarded it and turned to go into the library. He had a lot to think about, and a lot of work to do. Spike opened the door to the library and slowly walked in, head hanging low in minor depression.

"AHHH!" A loud shriek was heard as Spike walked in, snapping him from his thoughts. Spike only got a glimpse of Twilight, combined with a jumble of papers and books flying everywhere, before having a random piece of fabric fly out of nowhere and blindfold him. The aura engulfed napkin quickly tied itself in a large knot at the back of Spike's head. Spike struggled to get the fabric off of his eyes, only to realize he was fighting a losing battle.

Twilight on the other hand was frantically covering up multiple scrolls, books, parchments, and even delicate paintings inside a large tarp covering. She tied the tarps corners to each table leg, securing all the materials. Once she had done that, she darted her head from left to right trying to find a place to hide it, she only had a few seconds before Spike let himself free. She lifted the table with her magic, and engulfed it in a purple and white aura. Small crackling noises emulated from the air around the table, followed by tiny flashes. In a split second, the table disappeared.

Spike pulled at the fabric covering his face, but he knew it was too much for him to handle. An idea suddenly popped into his head. He stopped struggling and lifted his claw. He blew fire onto the tip of his index claw for a few seconds, before stopping the flame. His claw glowed with a red hot light, but Spike didn't feel a thing. His dragon skin was built for this type of thing. He lifted the steaming claw to the fabric, before he burned a rip straight down the middle of the cloth. The napkin fell in two pieces, only leaving an un-amused Spike in its place.

"What was that for Twilight?" Spike yelled. Twilight blushed and giggled awkwardly. She looked away from Spike with a funny smile.

"I, uhh, thought you were a burglar." Hoping Spike would at least not question her motives behind blinding Spike.

"Likely story Twilight, but whatever it is you're doing, don't keep me up with it. I have too much to think about, and I'm too tired to care right now." His voice dramatically changed from annoyed to depressed. He looked down and sighed. "Look, I'll be asleep upstairs. Wake me up when it's tomorrow." He started to walk past Twilight and up the stairs.

"Spike, now? It's only 4 in the afternoon!" She called upstairs to Spike. She was answered by the slamming of a door. She could tell Spike was sad, but she didn't want to try to force him to talk. She'd thought it be best to leave it until tomorrow at breakfast.

She began to think about what she had been studying before Spike came in. She re-transported the table back to its original spot. She undid the knots on the table legs, and she carefully removed the tarp. The books resurfaced and fell in separate directions off the table. Twilight sighed and began to pick up the books. The scroll she was reading floated in front of her face, "_The Great Dragon War."_

Meanwhile, Spike jumped into his basket, not even bothering to slip under his blanket. He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Countless thoughts ripped through his mind, tearing at the inner fabric of both his conscience and subconscious. He wanted answers, lots of them. He probably had more questions than there were answers, but he needed information. _What if he did change back into a beast? What if I destroy Ponyville? What if…What if I had to move away?_

He wanted answers. Lots of them. He needed them, and he realized one thing before drifting off into a deep sleep.

He wasn't normal_._

_Everfree forest, 5 hours traveling left._

"I believe we can rest here for the night." Stated Halo. Nightwing let out a long grunt before collapsing onto his stomach, practically hugging the ground in hopes of warmth.

"Please tell me we're going to be there soon." Nightwing let out one of his rare whines. He never acted like a baby unless he was _really_ tired, which he was. This was always something that Starflame had against him, lack of respect, for anyone.

"Look, according the Prophecy, we only have about a five hour trip until we reach our destination." He said in an irritated tone. He closed the book in his hand and cast a small sealing spell against the cover. Even when asleep, he didn't want this book to be opened. Even though he and those of much greater power and authority can see it, he didn't want it to be inspected.

"Calm yourself, brethren. I had already known of the distance between us and the youngling, that is why I decided to have mercy on your bodies and give you a proper night's rest." Halo let his smile grow. He sat down and placed his bag in front of him.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm off to bed." Nightwing said rolling onto his back. He removed the bandaged surprise he was carrying and hugged it tightly to his chest. Once his eyes fluttered shut, he was out.

"The little twat can't even sleep properly." Starflame resented. He looked toward Halo's direction, bowing before anything else. "If I may sir, may I be able to proceed to my temporary sleeping quarters."

Halo was sitting there, meditating peacefully. He let his mind unravel and his power surge, before dropping to its lowest level. He kept his smile and responded. "I grant you permission to rest for the night, Starflame. May you have the most pleasant of dreams."

"Thank you, sir." Starflame rose and walked over to a patch of flat ground. He drew a triangle in the ground before sitting in the center. He let his magic flow into the marking. The triangle started to glow a white and turquoise light. Slowly, a blue crystal rose from the triangle, engulfing Starflame. Once the crystal fully covered Starflame, the pale glow finally dimmed to nothingness, as Starflame fell asleep.

Halo continued to let his energy escape his corpse. He meditated, waiting for the youngling's final approach. Once he felt a small trickle of energy coming from the easterly direction, Halo finally let himself sleep.

He dreamt. Something he didn't truly enjoy.


	2. The Shifting

******Sorry for the long update guys, I had a crazy busy summer plus a bunch of school and sport schedules to arrange. I finally finished the next chapter, this time better than the last. I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP. **

**The Shifting:**

Destruction.

It was the only thing that clouded the town. Buildings were being rocked back and forth by the terrible tremors. Fire illuminated the sky in short bursts, leaving the light blue sky invisible. Screams of ponies wrapped the forests that surrounded Ponyville, deafening the silence that was ever present only a few minutes ago. Ponies left and right trampled each other in attempts to get out of the town, some being left for dead by the wicked chaos that was behind all of this.

A massive purple and green blur swooped over the town, leaving behind a trail of blazing fire, destroying more buildings and ending the lives of even more ponies. The entity landed beside town hall, quickly taking off the top floor with its powerful arm. The monstrosity looked around itself, relishing in the destruction of this tiny town. He looked down to see more running ponies, scattered and terrified.

Amongst the wreckage, he spied one pony in particular, a luminescent white pony. He looked at the pony, who continued to run away. He felt a strange feeling tugging at his heart, like a mixture of vengeance and sadness.

The pony stopped.

He looked at her, as she turned around, her big violet eyes sparkling like the night sky. He looked into the eyes of Rarity, the one pony who captured his heart once before. He looked into her eyes, feeling the instant regret of putting her through this, but she didn't own his heart, not anymore.

The dragon roared into the sky, flaring his wings. He took a vicious step toward Rarity, curling his neck before breathing a ball of immense fire. It plowed through the air, before coming in contact with the white pony…

**"AAAHHHHHHHH!"** The ear shattering scream rattled the wooden structures of the library, with the faint sound of birds escaping the sudden outburst.

Twilight jolted awake, falling off the couch in a tangle with the blanket and her limbs. As she struggled to break free, the scream continued for just a bit longer. She found an opening in the blanket and broke free. She looked at the door upstairs, in utter fear of what might've happened to Spike.

The screaming stopped.

Twilight wasted no time and bolted up the stairs, she was severely worried, almost shaking. She burst through the bedroom door, terrified at what she might see, only to see a sweating dragon sitting upright in his bed.

"Spike!" Cried Twilight as she ran over to the dragon's side. "You look like you just saw a ghost!"

Spike didn't see a ghost, he saw something worse. _Much_ worse.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, mortified at the sight of the terrified baby dragon.

"It's…it's fine Tw…Twi." Spike managed to just barely force out of his mouth. "Just a bad dream is all." He looked up at her faced, dripping from her own sweat, and put on his best "everything's OK" smile.

Twilight didn't seem too convinced. Spike started to pick up on it, and quickly got up out of bed. Twilight stopped him. "No Spike, it's not OK, you look terrified. What happened in your dream?" Twilight asked sitting him back down.

Spike really didn't want to tell Twilight. He would only relive that terrible nightmare. He knew that she was always there for him, and she truly cared for him, but this was something that was way too big for her to handle, even if it is just a dream.

"Twilight…" Spiked gulped, "I was… different… in the dream." He confessed.

"Different how?" She asked.

"_Scary_ different." Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

"Really, now?" Twilight complained. "Hold on Spike, I'll be right back. You just stay here and try to calm down." She reassured. She got up and headed for the door.

Spike wasn't in the mood for sitting. He was_ hungry._ His stomach gurgled in response to his thought.

"Heh, guess it's that day again." He said. He stood up and walked down the stairs.

Twilight on the other hoof, was just reaching for the door as Spike walked down the stairs. She turned the knob and opened the door. What met her eyes shocked the living daylights out of her. As she looked up, she could only imagine what was going to happen.

Before her stood three tall, lanky dragons. They were just above the height of the doorway, with wings the span of an oversized eagle. Well, at least two them. One didn't look as if he had any wings, which was surprising.

The one dragon that stood behind the group had a dark brown cloak over his body, concealing his face. His wings still showed from two holes cut out of the back. A large, well designed rod with a luminescent orb on top was suspended on his back. In his left arm was a thick book, very big compared to average book size, something that even she would find difficult to study. The dragon's talons weren't as menacing as she thought, but still a vile red color.

The other dragon behind the group was about the same height as the other, only a bit shorter in comparison. He had what looked like leather straps and small iron gauntlets portrayed on his body and limbs. He had a large, bandaged object on his back, with no wings in sight. He also had a satchel to his right. His scales were pitch black and menacingly intimidating, same with his muscles. For a thin dragon, he had quite the bulge to him.

The final dragon was the one she feared the most though. She assumed he was the leader, for he was the one in front, and had the most regal posture out of all of them. He had what looked like a white gown that dragged along the ground, with linen straps crossing his abdomen in an X pattern. He had no object about him, just his clothes. His scales were pristine white, with his eyes being a dark, crystal blue. He had a soft smile scrawled across his face, and his eyelids relaxed and positive. But as Twilight looked upon his face, she couldn't help but be mortally terrified.

"Greetings." The white dragon introduced. "My name is Halo. The one on my left here is Starflame, while the one on my right is Nightwing." The two dragons nodded.

"Uhh…. Umm… He…Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle." She stuttered. Her legs were subconsciously shaking just from looking at Halo.

"May we come in?" Halo asked. Ponies from nearby houses started gathering around the library. They looked in awe at the three tall dragons outside of Twilight's house.

"Uhh… Yeah, sure." She said, stepping out of the way for the trio to enter.

"This looks fairly cozy." Starflame complemented as they walked in.

"Ick, books." Nightwing gave his own little comment on the library. His response was a smack upside the head by Starflame.

"Be polite, Nightwing." Starflame said in a mocking, motherly voice.

He glared at Starflame. "Sorry, ahem… This is very nice." He stressed the words that left his palette.

"Uh, thanks." Twilight said. "But if it's too much to ask-"

"Why are we here?" Halo interrupted. "It's quite simple. We come from a faraway colony known as the Maelstrom colonies. We reside as a large group of dragons living in a suitable environment. Of course, we devised a form of government long ago. We have 6 main dragons, older than us all, watching over and protecting the colony. These dragons are known as The Council. They sent my two subordinates and I here to teach and train a certain growing entity. We've been keeping our eye on him for quite a while, but now he's at the perfect age for the stages to begin."

"Wait-"Twilight was beginning to clue in to what, or _who_, they were talking about. "You're here to train Spike, aren't you?" She was beginning to get worried.

"So Spike is his name." Halo said.

"That's…" She began.

"Don't worry, it's nothing of concern." Starflame added.

"That's RIDICULOUS!" She shouted. "You expect me to just let Spike walk away with you three and not say anything about it?!" She was boiling mad at this point. She didn't want them to take Spike away from her.

"But that's the beauty part." Nightwing said, in which he received a death glare from Twilight. "He doesn't need to come with us, we can train him here."

Twilight felt a bit awkward after his explanation. She never thought of that. She assumed the worst of a couple of dragons she just met. Her rage began to simmer down.

"It's understandable that you feel anger toward us. Three dragons showing up uninvited, saying that we're here to train him in something he's never heard of before. It would be safe to assume that we could've taken Spike. It would be devastating to lose someone who's been with you since his birth." Starflame said.

Twilight's ears perked up. How did they know that they've been together for that long?

"Because we've been keeping our eye on him, even before birth." Halo said. Twilight was dumbfounded. Was her mind just read by him?

"Yes, and I apologize, but we're running out of time. We'll answer all of your questions after the Shifting has passed." Halo said, starting to sound slightly more aggravated then before.

"Shifting?" Twilight asked.

"Starflame, check the house for the dragon, Nightwing, prepare the Lilybeth." Halo started to call orders, in which the dragons followed immediately. Starflame opened his book and began sorting through pages. He flipped to one and placed his claw down on top of the page. A sudden wave of energy spread throughout the house. Starflame then looked down at his paper. He saw diagram of the library with glowing marking indicating traces of magic. One of those markings was pulsing wildly.

"Found him." He said.

Meanwhile, Nightwing was opening vials and mixing herbs together in a small wooden bowl. The concoctions intermingled within the bowl and started to change color. It settled on a dark, wood color. It was only a pinch of powder mixed with a miniscule amount of liquid, but it could kill anybody if not dealt with properly.

Starflame walked into the Kitchen, knelt down and opened one of the cupboards. He reached in and pulled out the purple baby dragon. Spike wailed and gnashed at his claw, but the effort was futile. Spike had been hiding in there ever since he came downstairs. He didn't know who these guys were, but he didn't feel right about them.

"Twi, help!" Spike yelled.

"I'm coming!" Or so she thought, she immediately froze in place, unable to do anything but breathe. She didn't see any aura of magic around her, but something was holding her.

Starflame placed Spike on a stool in the center of the room. Once he let go, he quickly placed a binding spell on Spike before he could escape.

Spike and Twilight were now immobile.

Twilight was desperately trying to move, using unbinding spells and teleportation spells to get out of that one spot, but none of it was working. She shifted her eyes around the room, and saw Halo with his constant smile, shaking his head slowly at her. Of course he was the one, who trapped her here, but how is it that she can't break out, nor can she even feel his magic pulsating?

Spike on the other hoof was stuck to the stool, with his arms locked at his side, as if he were wearing a strait jacket. He was squirming wildly, using as much strength to break free from the spell.

"Ahh…. AHHHHHH!" He shouted in pure frustration. The fact he was being restricted from movement and he had no idea how it was done twisted the young dragon's mind.

"Don't bother struggling, it's hopeless." Nightwing said. He was holding the small bowl with the concoction, swirling it ever so slightly around the bowl. "Starflame, you ready?" He asked Starflame.

"Yes, everything is ready. We just need to wait for the right moment." Starflame said. He held his book close to his chest, finishing up the final non-existent markings on the page. Only he could see the ancient symbols scrawled in perfect fashion on to the pages. He traced one last line down the center of the book before placing the book on the ground, directly in front of Spike, approximately 4 feet away from him.

"I can sense that the Shifting is nearing its climax. The energy pulsing from the youngling is incredibly high for his average. It should be a few minutes." Halo warned in his usual tone. He walked up beside the kneeling Starflame, his robe trailing behind him. "Nightwing, prepare the Lilybeth." Nightwing did what he was told and began to levitate the fluids inside the bowl, levitating the liquid into a ball above his hand. He then used his magic to break the ball into 3 separate orbs.

"Starflame, the ritual." Halo said, looking down to Starflame. All he received was a nod, before Starflame pressed his hand to the page. A small circle of light lit the markings on the page.

"Nightwing." Starflame ordered. Nightwing walked over and knelt down beside Starflame, letting the three balls of serum hover over the page. He then let go of the orbs, but they remained over the page, bobbing gracefully over the markings.

There was a dead silence over the room, except for a wailing Spike and a complaining Twilight. Minutes, that felt like hours passed, and then something began to happen.

The orbs that resided over the page began to move ever so slowly. They twirled around each other in a confined, triangular prism space. The orbs picked up speed as time went on. Spike, who was still squirming, began to stare at the serum. He progressively slowed down his attempts at escape, before stopping completely. All he did was stare at the book lying on the ground. He didn't notice his green spikes upon his head began to glow an ever faint white light, but Twilight noticed.

"Spike, your head, it's glo-"was all she could say before a claw covered her mouth. She looked up at Nightwing with pleading eyes, trying to understand what was happening. She was on the verge of tears. She didn't want to lose Spike.

Spike, meanwhile, was entranced by the mystical book in front of him. During this time, more of his green scales began to glow. With each passing second, the intensity of the light grew stronger. The dragons and Twilight could only watch.

The three orbs of liquid were now traversing around each other at unremarkable speeds, faster than the average eye could see. As the brightness of Spike's scales and spines grew to full intensity, the three orbs suddenly shot out in the direction of Spike, flying under his stool before transforming into three powerful beams of light, never losing speed. They swirled upward from the ground, cocooning Spike in a majestic pattern. Spike began to levitate off the stool, completely enshrouded by the magical beams. The binding spell on Spike broke under the stress of power, but Spike was now under the mercy of the powerful magic.

On the outside of it all, Twilight and the dragons only watched a ball of bright magic slowly rise into the air. As Halo, Nightwing and Starflame watched intently for flaws in the process, Twilight was melting of worry inside. What was going to happen now?

Suddenly, a very noticeable cracking noise emanated from the cocoon, followed by an ear-splitting scream. The sound of cracks and tears began to sound from the ball of magic, followed by screams of pure agony. Twilight was trying to scream herself, but the claw covering her mouth was blocking her pleas. It's not like they would've heard her anyway, the sound of crunching and ripping was far louder than anything in the room. Only the dragons' keen hearing could notice the sound of ponies crowding around the library.

As the crunching and snapping continued, Twilight was crying and moaning in her statue state, fearing for what was happening to Spike. What pushed her over the edge was a limb popping out from the side of the floating orb. Spike was growing within the orb, and was exceeding the spatial capacity of the orb. His limbs and body continued to stretch outward from the orb, before the visible, glowing silhouette of Spike's head lurched left and right.

One final snap, followed by one more tragic scream of pain, louder than all the rest, pulsed from the ball. The light shone as if it were the sun, before residing to just a white dragon figure. Spike's torso was the only thing being covered by the orb. The ball of light shrunk and sank into his lime green scales, entering his body. Spike then finally stopped glowing and dropped to the ground, completely unconscious…

The inner shrouds of Spike's clouded mind began to open up, letting his thoughts rush back to him. Spike was standing in the black world of his conscience, completely isolated. All he could do was stand there, looking around. He couldn't hear anything, only the sound of his breathing and heartbeat. He sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest, which were surprisingly long.

He couldn't remember much of what happened just after he was trapped in that strange ball of light, but he could remember one thing.

Pain. _Intense_ pain.

He closed his eyes, at least, in his head he did. He just sat there, confused, but oddly, feeling pretty good. He didn't know where he was, if he was even still living, or if those dragons banished him someplace. He didn't feel scared though, as if he had already been here before.

A couple minutes passed, and Spike still couldn't remember what happened to him. Was it even worth it? He didn't know.

"Don't you TELL me…" A random voice echoed through the void. Spike perked his ears. He looked up from his knees and searched for the location of the noise.

"He's fine…" Another voice.

"Hello?!" He shouted. Surprisingly, he didn't get any echo back, just white noise.

"You don't…ine and he'll…any m…" He couldn't decipher who it was, and he was only getting small tidbits of speech. He stood up, and looked in a random direction.

"Where are you!?" He asked. He looked around, but no reply. He began to run in a random direction, hoping he'd find someone or something.

Out of nowhere, a concussive rumble shook Spike off his course. He tripped and fell face first into… well he fell on something. He heard the voices pick up again, but it was a scatter of words and impossible to tell what was being said.

Another rumble.

What was happening? Spike was getting worried that he might never escape from this place, this emptiness, this prison.

He felt a force launch him to one side, very far to one side, as the black void crumbled and flew away with him, with the cracks escorting a fiery light, blinding Spike as he travel nowhere…

"Wha!?" Spike shouted in surprise as he shot upright in Twilight's bed, his hand on his chest, heart pounding, and breathing heavy.

"That was unnecessary, Nightwing." Starflame said, angrily looking at Nightwing.

"It worked, didn't it?" Nightwing stressed in aggravation.

"What's going on? What happened? Where's Twilight?" Spike was full of questions and adrenaline. He then felt a comforting hand on his forehead ease him back down on the bed.

"Hush, Spike. We'll answer all of your questions soon, but first you must come to terms with reality and settle down a tad." Halo comforted.

Spike had gotten glimpses of Halo, the apparent leader of the dragons, but never got a good look at him. Spike looked up at Halo, finally seeing his face, and couldn't help but fear his motherly smile, his relaxed eyes and poised posture. Spike wasn't totally afraid Halo would kill him, but the thought still remained in his head.

Spike took his glance away from Halo and observed the other two dragons. The black dragon, Nightwing, the one who made that potion, stood with his arms crossed at the foot of the bed. The red dragon, Starflame, the one that dragged him out of the cupboard and locked him in place with some random spell, stood beside Nightwing in a more refined posture. His cloak covered his face, and his wings were curled behind his back.

Halo sat down on the bed beside Spike, while Spike was still confused about what happened.

"First of all, we helped you through an event that could've killed you." Halo explained. "We refer to it as 'The Shifting'." Spike looked back to Halo, again feeling frightened by his existence.

"The what?" Spike asked.

Halo chuckled. "That is too much to explain right now, but you will learn soon. Secondly, after the events of The Shifting, you slipped unconscious. So we had to bring you up here."

"How long was I out?" Spike asked.

"A few weeks, and it would've been longer if I hadn't of helped you." Nightwing said flatly.

"Helped me?"

"I slapped you, really hard."

As soon as he said that, Spike felt the numb tingling of a claw over the right side of his face. "Yes," Halo began, "Nightwing assisted in your awakening." Halo said in a mildly sadder voice than what he normally sounds like.

"So why was that event so dangerous to me? Why did it happen, anyway?" Spike finally asked the two questions pecking at his mind.

"You see," Halo said, "You're maturing as a dragon, but in a much rarer case then the average dragon. Normally, most dragons of this evolution would not have needed that ritual to help them through it, but you are much more special. If you would've evolved without the ritual, then you would be dead right now. The serum we and spell we used on you was to keep your body intact so it would have time to heal. Your body might've very well torn itself to shreds without that potion." The statement shocked Spike to the bone. He could've died? Spike was now deciding whether to feel angry at them for putting him through such a painful ritual or thanking them for saving his life. What would Twilight have done without him? What about his friends? What about Rarity?

"Wait." Spike came to a realization. "You said I evolved, right?"

"Correct." Halo said.

"If I evolved… Then what's different about me?"

"Haven't you noticed how much deeper your voice has gotten since you last remember?" Starflame pointed out.

In fact, Spike DIDN'T notice that. Now that he thought about it, his voice had gotten deeper and much more gruff than usual. Guess this is his usual now.

"Would you be up to standing up?" Halo asked. "Your pony friends are downstairs, worried sick about you."

Spike nodded. He tried to get up on his own, but everywhere was sore. He winced as he got up, with the help of Halo. He sat up on the bed, eyes still closed as he moved his legs off the bed. Spike was only focused on the soreness of his muscles, he didn't really think about getting off the bed, but he knew that there was going to be a drop from the bed to the floor. He scooted his butt inch by inch off the bed, up to the point where he would drop. He slid off the fluffy bed, but didn't expect the floor to be so close. He planted his feet on the ground, and stood as upright as he could. He got used to the soreness, enough that he finally opened his eyes. He looked around, only to come face to chin with Halo.

"Wait, what?" Spike was at Halo's chin? Halo was really tall!

"That's something else." Spike heard Starflame speak, "You've grown, quite a bit." Spike looked down, and he noticed his basket, which was now no taller than his femur.

"Whoa… Awesome." Spike was now starting to like this whole situation. "Well, are we going downstairs?" Spike asked as he slowly walked toward the bedroom door. Starflame, Nightwing and Halo followed Spike to the door. Spike tripped as he was opening the door.

"You'll get used to it. It'll go away eventually." Nightwing reassured. He sounded a bit more compassionate than when he first arrived, but still with his 'tough guy' voice. Nightwing and the other dragons went first out the door. Spike, holding his side, got up and followed them.

Downstairs, the Mane 6 were waiting patiently, as they did every day, for Spike to wake up. They conversed among themselves in hopes of passing the time. The wait was unbearable.

"I still remember the screams of pain…" Twilight said softly. She bowed her head, recalling on the day those dragons arrived.

"Twi, darling, at least he didn't die. That would've been even worse…" Rarity attempted to comfort her, but she only worsened her own worry for little Spikey-Wikey.

"He'll wake up sooner her later, sugar cube." Applejack said.

"It's not like he can sleep forever." Pinkie cheered on the positive.

"He's um… a strong one." Fluttershy squeaked, holding back tears for Twilight.

"Yeah! Spike's tough! He'll wake up, even if I need to smack him up." Rainbow said in her tough, tomboyish accent, pounding her front hooves together.

"Too late." Nightwing said as he reached the bottom step. Halo and Starflame followed Nightwing down the stairs. The ponies never notices them come down.

"Wait, Spike's awake?!" The 6 ponies asked simultaneously. They all began to move slowly toward the dragons.

A tingling silence fell over the library before Starflame spoke. "See for yourself." The three dragons stepped aside from the stairway to reveal a completely different Spike, walking down the last few steps. The ponies could only gawk and hang their jaws.

"Spike…" Rarity whispered under her breath. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Spike was now looming over her, all of the ponies, in fact. The spines on his head grew in length. His body was slim and lanky, with a tail dragging behind him. His eyes hadn't changed, but his claws had grown, and looked more menacing than before. He also wore an awkward smile from all the ponies staring at him.

Twilight was reminded of the first time he matured. He looked similar, but not the exact same. She was a little intimidated by him now.

"Uh… Hi." Spike said, finally breaking the deathly silence. He rubbed the back of his head, thinking that the ponies would be scared of him now. He still didn't get a clear view of what he looks like, so he could only imagine.

"Spike…" Rainbow started, "You look awesome!" She zipped over to Spike, patting him on the back. "But you don't have any wings like they do." Rainbow pointed out. Spike looked at Halo with confused eyes. No wings?

Halo only gave him a wider smile. "Don't fret, young one. This is only your first stage; you have yet to mature further," He turned and walked over to Starflame, "But I'm afraid we've already lost quite a bit of time with your unconsciousness. In The Shifting, your brain is at its peak developing stage. After The Shifting, your brain matures very slowly, so we take advantage of the speed of growth, by teaching you everything there is to learn about dragon history." Starflame handed Halo his book, the one book only truly seen by Starflame.

"Studying? Yuck!" Rainbow protested with her tongue.

Twilight's ears perked up. Not only at the mention of learning, but of _dragon history_, something ponies find scarce. "So… This dragon history, what do you mean by 'all'?|" She asked so curiously, batting her eyelids for further temptation.

Starflame smirked. "Everything there is to know about it, from the first dragons onward." He pointed his claw to the book in Halo's arms. A small beam of mystical red shot out from his claw to the book, engulfing the object. The book's pages flew open, covering themselves in ink. Page after page of letters, pictures and symbols flew by, this time, for everyone to see. "This spell allows everybody to see what's on the page, not just I."

As the book finished its final pages, Spike only gawked in despair at the book. "You mean… I have to read all that?" His face fell.

"Memorize, actually. I know it's bad, but I did it as well." Nightwing said, patting Spike on the shoulder in empathy.

"Something I find hard to believe…" Starflame said under his breath.

"What was that?" Nightwing noticed.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Starflame lied.

"Well, time for some studying, huh Spike?" Twilight said happily. She trotted past him, "I'll help you with all that, plus I'm curious as to what it says as well." She looked up at Spike.

"Uh...uhh…." His jaw was wide open. Halo dropped the book into Spike's arms, and the weight of it was more than Spike had originally thought.

"Stop wasting time, now go study." Halo ordered Spike. Spike only hung his head in shame and walked up the stairs, with Twilight by his side.


End file.
